Democracy Now! Thursday, July 2, 2009 :: John Pilger

Today's Headlines

• US Forces Launch Major Afghan Offensive
• Militants Capture US Soldier in Afghanistan
• Senate Dems Revise Healthcare Proposal
• Lieberman Opposes Public Health Proposal
• US Suspends Military Cooperation with Honduras
• Amnesty: Israel Committed “Wanton Destruction” of Gaza
• Poll: Pakistanis Oppose US Attacks, Afghan Occupation
• Morales: Bolivia Trade Suspension Shows Obama “Lied to Latin America”
• California Fiscal Crisis Intensifies
• Staffer: SEC Officials Ignored Madoff Warnings
• Obama Admin Accused of Relying on Torture-Induced Statements
• Military Panel Urges Discharge for Gay Servicemember

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  Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire Speaks from Israeli Jail Cell After Arrest on Boat Delivering Humanitarian Aid to Gaza

  Irish Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire speaks to us from her jail cell in Israel. She was taken into custody along with twenty others, including former US Congress member Cynthia McKinney, when the Israeli military boarded their ship in international waters as it tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. [includes rush transcript]

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  Zelaya Vows to Return to Honduras Despite Threats of Arrest by Coup Leaders

  The ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has vowed to return to Honduras within the next few days in an attempt to reclaim power. Zelaya was forced out of office in a military coup d’etat on Sunday. He will reportedly return to Honduras accompanied by the OAS Secretary General, the presidents of Argentina and Ecuador, and the head of the UN General Assembly. But Roberto Micheletti, who was appointed interim leader by the Honduran congress, has given warning that Zelaya will be arrested should he return, regardless of who is traveling with him. We speak with Latin American historian Greg Grandin. [includes rush transcript]

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  "Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City"

  We speak with NYU professor Greg Grandin about his new book, Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City. The book tells the story of Henry Ford, the richest man in the world in the 1920s, and his attempt to build a rubber plantation and a miniature Midwest factory town deep in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. [includes rush transcript]

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  Up in Smoke: How the Tobacco Industry Shaped the New Smoking Bill

  President Obama signed into law a bill last week that gives the US government broad regulatory power over cigarettes and other tobacco products. Obama said the law would curb the ability of tobacco companies to market their products to children. But several public health professionals have come out strongly against the new legislation. They argue that it was largely shaped by Philip Morris, now called Altria Group, the largest cigarette company in the country. We speak with Dr. Joel Nitzkin, chair of the Tobacco Control Task Force of the American Association of Public Health Physicians. [includes rush transcript]

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  John Pilger Calls UK National Health Service a Treasure, Blasts US Lawmakers for Being "in Bed with Powerful Interests" and Neglecting "Their Own People's Basic Human Rights"

  We play an excerpt of an extended interview with Australian investigative journalist, John Pilger. Speaking about the US healthcare system, Pilger says, “What is it about US legislators that they appear to be so in bed with such powerful interests, such as the insurance companies, that they can’t represent their own people’s needs, their own people’s basic human rights.” [includes rush transcript]